“Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Phil. 3:13 NKJ).

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could open the top of our head like a lid, reach inside our brain, and clear out all the traumatic memories? The next step would be to put the lid back on and go on our way with a mind cleared of painful and hurtful associations with our past.

It can be done. This verse tells us that we can turn 180 degrees from looking into our past and can begin to confidently peer into the future.

One time a very godly person had a vision of me bound to past memories. A prayer went up: “Lord, free Dick Mills from being chained to the past, even if You have to give him a vision to do so.”

It happened that very evening while I was in prayer. I saw a vivid picture of myself sitting in a chair with chains linking me to the past. I could see many signposts all in a row. The closest signpost was marked with the date of the preceding year. The one behind it showed the date of the year before that. There were twenty posts in all, receding in time. (I was twenty-four when this event took place.)

In the picture I was chained to all twenty of those past years of my life. My back was to the future and I was facing the past. In desperation I cried out to God: “Lord, I will never be able to adequately minister to the needs of people until these chains are removed. Dear Jesus, free me from this bondage.”

This verse in Philippians 3:13 and others came to me, and immediately the chains came off. I did a complete turn around. I was gloriously freed so I could get on with what the Lord had called me to do.